The Doctors, Plural
by ShinyTogeticFTW
Summary: The Doctor may be one-of-a-kind, but sometimes there can be more than one of him... Take the Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor, for instance. Consider the possibilities - what would have happened if he had remained in the TARDIS, traveling with the original? How might their subsequent adventures have been different? And, the biggest question of all: will they ever be able to just get along?
1. Bad Wolf Bay

Rose looked around in slight puzzlement. She followed her mom and the Doctor in the blue suit as they exited the TARDIS talking amiably on the shore of Bad Wolf Bay. Suddenly it clicked and she turned to look at the Doctor in the brown suit and questioned, "Hold on, this is... the parallel universe, right?"

His face solemn and his hands buried in his pockets, he confirmed, "You're back home."

"And the walls of the world are closing again now that the reality bomb never happens," Donna added. "It's dimensional retroclosure." The Doctor in the blue suit smiled widely in recognition of her heightened intelligence; a result of the miraculous metacrisis the two of them had undergone. "See? I really get that stuff now."

"No, but– I spent all that time trying to find you, I'm not going back now!" Rose whinged.

"But you've got to." The Time Lord's voice was gentle but firm, leaving no doubt that nothing could be said to convince him otherwise. Walking toward her, he continued, "'Cause we saved the universe, but at a cost. And the cost is him." He stared pointedly at his duplicate, whose face fell in shock and he swayed slightly. "He destroyed the Daleks, he committed genocide... He's too dangerous to be left on his own."

The Meta-Crisis Doctor looked as though he had been slapped. "You made me!" he protested indignantly, unable to believe his ears; he felt utterly betrayed.

Donna's face was inscrutable, but her eyes were sad; the other's face was hard. "Exactly," he bit out. "You were born in battle. Full of blood and anger and revenge." When he spoke again it was softer. "Remind you of someone?" he asked, his gaze moving to Rose though he did not give her any time to answer. "That's me – when we first met – and you made me better. Now you can do the same for him."

"But he's not you," she pleaded, tears already starting to slide quietly down her cheeks.

"He needs you," he countered. "That's very me."

Donna shook her head; he was going about this the wrong way! "Bu-but it's better than that, though," Donna cut in. "Don't you see what he's trying to give you? Tell her, go on!" she urged the blue-suited Doctor.

He hesitated as Rose turned to him, taking a deep breath before he informed her, "I look like him and I think like him; same memories, same thoughts, same everything..." He held his breath a moment before continuing, as though scared to admit what he was going to say. "...Except I've only got one heart."

Rose blinked, unsure what that had to do with anything. "Which means?"

"I'm part human. Specifically the aging part; I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life, Rose Tyler. I could spend it with you. If you want."

Rose's jaw quivered. "You'll g-grow old at the same time as me?"

"Together," he confirmed.

She shook her head disbelievingly before slowly approaching him with her hand outstretched. He stood perfectly still as she did so, watching her face for a reaction as she pressed her hand against his chest.

As Donna and the other Doctor looked on with bittersweet smiles, the TARDIS gave a groan of protest.

"We've got to go; this reality's sealing itself off... forever," the Doctor in the brown suit said, retreating with Donna back toward their ship.

A tear slid down Rose's cheek as she ran after them with a shout of, "But! It's still not right." He turned halfway and looked at her more sternly than he had ever done before; this made her stutter, but she persisted in her argument. "'Cause... the Doctor's s-still you."

"And I'm him," he told her, nodding at the one still standing behind her; he hadn't moved.

"Alright, both of you answer me this..." Rose, frantically grasping at straws in what now seemed like a futile attempt to keep the Doctor (_her_ Doctor; the _proper_ Doctor) in her life, turned to the one behind her briefly before looking back at the original. The two identical Doctors came forward, each coming to a halt opposite his double in front of her; the one in brown at her right side and the one in blue to her left. "When I last stood on this beach – on the worst day of my life – what was the last thing you said to me?" Despite having addressed both of them, she didn't deign to turn her head to the left. When neither of them spoke right away, she desperately pleaded, "Go on! Say it!"

The Doctor in the brown suit swallowed. "I said, 'Rose Tyler.'"

Rose waited for him to continue but he didn't, so she pressed, "Yeah, and... how was that sentence gonna end?"

He stared at her for a few seconds. "Does it need saying?"

Rose's face crumpled then; this was not going at all the way she had hoped. She finally turned to the other one, scrutinizing him. "And you, 'Doctor'? ...What was the end of that sentence?"

He silently steeled himself a moment before stepping forward and placing a hand on her arm. He bent close and whispered the words in her ear, then pulled back to see her face.

Her mouth dropped open. It was true. This was the man of her dreams. This was the man she had fought so hard and searched so long to return to. This was the man she had fallen in love with, and he just confirmed that he felt the same way. Overcome with emotion, she reached for the lapels of his suit coat to pull him in for a kiss, but he caught her hands before she could grasp them and leaned away from her. "I _do_ love you, Rose Tyler. And that's why I'm leaving you here."

* * *

**That's it for Chapter 1! Just a teaser to get you up to speed on where we're starting from here – near the end of the episode ****_Journey's End_****, when the Doctor returns Rose and her mom to Pete's World after saving the multiverse from Davros and his reality bomb. I hope you enjoyed my embellished rendition of that scene up to the point where the storyline changes and, rather than sharing a passionate kiss, the Meta-Crisis Doctor forestalls Rose with an unexpected declaration: that this is goodbye.**

**This chapter is rated K as far as I'm concerned, but Chapter 2 will be deserving of this fic's T rating.**


	2. Fare Well?

**Hello, readers! Thanks for sticking around/coming back for Chapter 2! *eyeroll* Yes, last time it was pretty much exactly the Bad Wolf Bay scene from****_ Journey's End_**** - I just embellished it a little bit - right up until the last couple of lines when the Meta-Crisis Doctor stops Rose from kissing him (which I have helpfully placed in italics below to start off this next part). Not sure if maybe some of what I added in the narration between the verbatim canon dialogue will be so vitally important that I'd need to caution any savvy Whovians not to skip right to this point just because they already know exactly what happened there... but really, why would you? Of course it's gonna coincide directly from the start! And besides, who doesn't appreciate a quick recap?**

* * *

_Overcome with emotion, she reached for the lapels of his suit coat to pull him in for a kiss, but he caught her hands before she could grasp them and leaned away from her. "I _do_ love you, Rose Tyler. And that's why I'm leaving you here."_

Rose's mouth hung open. "What?"

The blue-suited Doctor glanced over at and locked eyes with his other self, raising his eyebrows indicatively; he received a half-bemused half-resigned shake of the head, but he knew they were of one mind. Seeing this for what it was, Donna walked over to where Jackie stood a short distance beyond them in order to explain what was going to happen.

The fully Time Lord Doctor had previously thought that, if he was a human, he would just want to be with Rose, but if his half-human alter ego would rather not then who was he to force him? It was not his own decision to make; it was up to the Meta-Crisis Doctor, and they both knew and agreed what the consequences of his choice would be either way.

The Doctor in blue held fast to Rose's wrists as the Doctor in the brown suit came over to them and placed his hands on Rose's temples, bowing his head and closing his eyes in focus.

"What are you doing?" she asked worriedly as she felt a strange sensation, like some sort of energy flowing into her mind through the brown-clad Doctor's fingertips.

"I'm wiping your memory," he murmured, "now hold still."

"What?" Rose shouted. "No!" She tried to step back out of his reach, but found herself trapped; while her attention had been on the Doctor in the brown suit, the one in the blue suit had moved to position himself at her back, holding her arms tight to her body in a restricting bear hug. "Let me go! I thought you loved me! How could you do this?" Unable to push either of them away from her, she could only stamp her feet in frustration. "Why?" she sobbed.

"Because you don't want me," the Doctor behind her replied in her ear.

"Yes I do!" she argued.

"No; you were only willing to accept me if you couldn't have him." He tilted his head toward the one in front of her. "I couldn't live like that; it wouldn't be fair for either of us."

"But..." Rose suddenly felt exhausted. "But I'd rather have you than be left alone again."

"Half a Doctor is better than no Doctor at all, right?" he asked her scathingly.

"Well, yeah," she answered without thinking, realizing too late what had she said and the implications of it. "No! That's not what I meant! Please! I want to be with you! I love you! I'll always love you!"

"No, you won't," the Doctor in front of her stated matter-of-factly, and Rose gasped at how callous he sounded. He lifted his head then and gazed at her, taking in her features one last time. "As soon as I let go, you won't even remember me."

"No..." Rose moaned in despair, her eyes flicking back and forth between his, searching.

"You won't remember me, or the TARDIS, anything we did together, anywhere we went..."

"And that's for the best," the Doctor behind her finished. "Now, say goodbye to the Doctor."

"I can't..." Rose's lower lip trembled.

"Well... It's your last chance to say it," the Doctor in front of her prompted, looking grieved.

"Doctor..." Rose began, then she shook her head defiantly, the motion unintentionally knocking the brown-suited Doctor's hands away. She immediately went limp, her eyes now devoid of tears though the ones she had already shed still streaked down her face.

"Rose...!" The Doctors said in unison as her sudden dead weight caused her to slip out of the blue-clad Doctor's arms and fall, landing splayed unconscious on the sand at their feet.

"_Bloody Hell_," the Doctor in blue muttered in Gallifreyan as he ran a hand back through his hair, for which he received a sharp glare. "What?" he asked defensively. "She broke the connection! It's her own fault!"

The Doctor in the brown suit turned away, his face downcast, and uttered something so quiet that even standing right in front of him the other Doctor couldn't make it out.

"Did you just say what I think you said?" the blue-suited Doctor asked, gobsmacked. When he received a nod in response, he was livid. "What! And you have the nerve to tell me off for what _I_ said?"

"Yes," he replied simply.

"Are you going to tell me why?" The brown-suited Doctor said nothing. "You've got no excuse? You know better than that! What could have made you even consider saying it? It never came close to crossing my mind until it was out of your mouth, so what's the difference? Answer me!"

"Rose!" he snapped, turning to his duplicate with a look of utter rage and hatred on his face. "Rose is the difference! I'm the one she loved, and I just wiped her memory because she wouldn't settle for you instead! Don't you get it? She was loyal to me – to me! – and in return, I made her forget every single memory of all that we shared! Oh Rassilon, what kind of monster am I? Who would do something like that? She didn't deserve it; she didn't deserve to be foisted off on you, and _you_? YOU DON'T DESERVE HER!" With that he finally broke down and fell to his knees at her side, rocking and crying into his hands, "I loved her. I loved her so much."

"You're wrong."

"What?" Surprised, his head snapped up in defiance.

"You're wrong," he repeated. "She didn't love you any more than she loved me; and that was not much."

"How can you say that?" He leapt to his feet and shoved the blue-suited Doctor, forcing him back a few steps. "How can you stand there and say that to me?"

"If I hadn't been created, would you have stayed with her?"

"I would've kept her with me on the TARDIS, yes."

"You know full well that's not what I meant! Would you have stayed here with her like you expected me to?"

The brown-suited Doctor said nothing for a moment, but when the other crossed his arms he knew he wouldn't get away with not answering. "No. I could never do that. But if the roles were reversed? If you were the Time Lord and I was the Meta-Crisis, I would have stayed here with her to live out my one life at her side."

"Except she wouldn't have chosen you anyway. She didn't want a half-human Doctor, but you know what else? She didn't want a Time Lord Doctor either."

"What?"

"Why do I exist, Doctor?" the one in the blue suit asked. The other Doctor didn't respond, so he pressed, "How was it possible for me to come about?"

"Because I poured my regenerative energy into my spare hand."

"And why, Doctor, would you do something like that? Something so unprecedented? So unheard-of?"

"Because Rose didn't want me to change," the Doctor in the brown suit mumbled.

"So... remind me why you think she would have been happier with you than with me?" When he got no reply, the Doctor in the blue suit just continued talking. "She didn't want you to change, but you were dying. If you had listened to her, there's no question what would have happened: You would have died, and sod your remaining three lives."

The brown-clad Doctor sighed in exasperation. "Doctor..."

"Don't you 'Doctor' me, Doctor! Because if Rose was right about one thing, it was that we are not the same! And I'll tell you something else: you're wrong about me as well; I'm not the one who's too dangerous to be on his own – you are!"

The two of them stared at each other for a long while, the half-human breathing heavily because of his ranting.

"Um, excuse me, Doctors," Donna said, walking up behind the Meta-Crisis Doctor and resting her hand on his shoulder. "We need to get going. I've already assured Jackie that Rose will be fine and to make sure no one ever mentions anything to her about meeting or traveling with you, but the TARDIS needs to return to our universe before her energy stores are depleted."

"Right you are, Donna," the Time Lord Doctor exclaimed with all of his usual gusto, bouncing on the balls of his feet as though he was completely unaffected by any of what had just been going on. "Come on then!" He spun on the spot, running down the beach at full speed until he reached the TARDIS and, without a backward glance, disappeared inside.

Donna and the Meta-Crisis Doctor stared after him in silence until Donna suddenly gasped in pain and turned her head away from him. "Donna?" he asked, concerned.

"I'm fine!" she said immediately, giving him a forced smile.

"No you're not, Donna. Tell me what... no?" he whispered fearfully. "Please tell me it's not... you're not...?" Donna bowed her head miserably. "...He doesn't know, does he? Did he suspect it was going to happen and ask you about it earlier?"

"No," she said quietly. "I don't want..." She hissed and bent double, pressing a hand to her temple.

He placed a hand on her back and sighed. "You know he's going to find out; there's no way we can hide it from him."

"I know," she sniffed, "but there has to be another way– ah!"

"Come here," he soothed, pulling her upright into a warm embrace and kissing the top of her head. "I'll think of something," he promised as he kissed her head again, then took her by the hand and led the way back to the TARDIS. The Cloister Bell began to sound just as they reached it, so they dove inside and shut the door behind them.

"Not a moment too soon," the Doctor at the console yelled across the room, looking anywhere but at them while he danced around pressing buttons and flicking switches with both his hands and feet. As the TARDIS dematerialization sequence began, the Cloister Bell quieted and the Meta-Crises at the door both breathed a sigh of relief. "So? Where we off to next? Donna?"

"I thought we'd try the planet Felspoon," Donna suggested, trying to keep her composure despite her growing headache. "Just 'cause..." She winced.

"What a good name! 'Felspoon'!" the Meta-Crisis Doctor exclaimed, hoping his charisma would draw the other Doctor's attention away from the expression of pain that had just crossed Donna's face. "Apparently it's got mountains that sway in the breeze! Mountains that move, can you imagine?"

It didn't work. "...Donna?" the Doctor in the brown suit queried suspiciously, stepping closer. She tried to avoid his gaze, but he managed to lock eyes with her and she was forced to concede defeat. "Do you know what's happening?" he asked her sensitively.

Donna gave a slight nod and sniffed, "Yeah."

"There's never been a Human-Time Lord Meta-Crisis before now..."

"And she knows why!" the Doctor in blue burst out. "Because there can't be! We all share the same mind, so obviously we all know what it means!"

"I want to stay," Donna stated plainly, stepping around the brown-suited Doctor and walking over to the console.

"Look at me," the Doctor in the brown suit said, having followed her and leant down so they were at each other's eye level, but she turned her head away, refusing to face him. "Donna! Look at me!"

"Stop it!" The Doctor in the blue suit grabbed the other by the shoulder and spun him around so they were face to face. "Let her be!"

"I was gonna be with you... forever," Donna whispered; both of them heard and turned to her.

"I know," the brown-suited Doctor whispered consolingly.

"The rest of my life... traveling... in the TARDIS... the 'DoctorDonna'," she sniffled, glancing up. The Meta-Crisis Doctor had his head resting against the central column of the TARDIS, whispering to the ship in Gallifreyan that he had a plan he was certain would work if she could help. Donna started to crack a smile, grateful that he would do everything he could for her, but then she saw the morose resolve in the Time Lord Doctor's eyes and gasped, backing away from him as though he was the object of all her fears. "Oh my God," she whined as he closed in on her. "I can't go back! Don't make me go back! Doctor? Please? Please don't make me go back!"

"Donna," he said bracingly as he grasped her arms. "Oh, Donna Noble, I am so sorry... But we had the best of times. The best," he whispered. "...Goodbye." With that, he reached up to place his fingers on her temples and closed his eyes just as he had done with Rose.

"No, no... no, please! Please, no!" Donna begged, tears pouring down her face.

"NO!" the blue-clad Doctor screamed, leaping forward at the last second to slide his hands beneath those of other Doctor and curling them protectively around Donna's head. "Just what do you think you're doing?" he snarled at him.

The Doctor in the brown suit was taken aback. "What am _I_ doing? What about what are _you_ doing? This is the only way she'll survive, you know that; we _all_ know that!"

"That's not the only answer; she can be saved!"

"She won't be safe unless I wipe her mind!"

"I'm telling you there is an alternative!"

"There are only two options here: either I can wipe her mind or she'll die–"

"Die..." Donna muttered. The Doctors went silent and turned to face her as she expounded, "I would rather die... with my memories intact... than live without them."

The Meta-Crisis Doctor gave her a sad, understanding smile and nodded his approval of that sentiment; the other Doctor's face was blank, however, and he resignedly let his arms fall to his sides before turning and walking deeper into the TARDIS. Just before he disappeared from sight he called back to them over his shoulder, "I'll be in the sickbay, so whenever... you know... when it's time... I'll see you in there."

"That was close." The blue-clad Doctor sighed heavily. "I'm sorry; I almost didn't get here in time to stop him from–"

"It's alright," Donna cut him off; she was not whispering now, but her voice was still very quiet and shaky. "So? You said I can be saved?"

He nodded. "You'll be saved, but you'll not survive."

She got a sense of déjà vu at those words, and a moment later she realized, "You're going to 'save' me... into a data network? Like what happened to me in the Library?"

He grinned. "Oh yes, but not the Library; we've got access to an even bigger and better virtual system... Don't we, girl?" He directed his question to the ceiling, and Donna's smile grew in understanding when the TARDIS answered with a pleasant hum and whirr.

"Thanks." She smiled, looking from her fellow Meta-Crisis to the time rotor of the TARDIS. "Both of you."

A moment later there was a warbling tone as a thick, cylindrical object was raised up from the console: a new sonic screwdriver. This one was slightly longer than the one the Doctor was using and had a textured white stem. The telescoping top was a shiny bronze tipped with a blue light, and there were rings of gold near the middle leading to the black base. The most notable part of its appearance, however, was the thick keyring-like clip attached to the side.

"That looks like..." Donna began, glancing uncertainly between it and the Doctor at her side.

"It is." He nodded. "It's the screwdriver River Song had in the Library."

"No," Donna uttered in disbelief. "There's no way. It looks brand new!"

"That's because it is. It's brand new right now; by the time I give it to her it will be much older. Years and years. Decades, probably... maybe even centuries, who knows?" He picked it up, tossing it lightly in the air before holding it out to her.

Donna took it from him hesitantly, turning it over as she examined it before pressing the button. A knowing smile spread across her face as it buzzed, the pulsing glow seeming to make her eyes shine. "There's a neural relay tucked inside here that links automatically with whoever uses it first; since it's going to save me in a few minutes, you'll have to reformat it before you pass it on to her. Ngh!" she grunted as she doubled over in pain. The sonic fell to the TARDIS floor with a clatter and a tiny piece chipped off when it made contact with the grates.

"Hey? Okay?" the Doctor whispered as he crouched down and laid a hand on her back, picking up the fallen screwdriver with the other. "See? It already looks more like it did in the Library."

She let out a short, rueful laugh at his comment before straightening up and tilting her head back. "I'm not gonna last much longer... Doctor."

"I know," he said simply, rising to his feet and pocketing the device. "Come on." He supported her down the halls through the TARDIS to the sickbay where the Doctor in the brown suit was waiting for them. They found him leaning against the far wall with his head bowed, ankles crossed, and his hands, as ever, in his pockets.

He looked up when they entered, nodded toward the bed in front of them, then turned his face away before pushing off the wall and standing at his full height. "It's not too late you know," he said, almost pleading, "I can still save you."

"It's taken care of," the other said as he held both of Donna's hands and helped her onto the bed. Once she was settled in a recumbent position, he withdrew the data chip-embedded sonic, flipping it in the air and raising an eyebrow as he held it up in full view of the Time Lord.

He recognized it at once, of course, though he didn't say anything about it; instead he asked, "And you find that more favorable, do you? Existing as nothing more than a data ghost? A digital impression of the living consciousness only surviving within a computer's hard drive?"

"You didn't think it was such a terrible fate when you did it for River," the Doctor in the blue suit pointed out.

"I had no choice then! I wouldn't've considered that the best solution, but my hands were tied, weren't they? You were still me at the time, you remember!" the brown-clad Doctor shot back.

"Right, but if you'd've had your way then neither of us would be here and Donna would be where? With River? Rassilon only knows how that would've turned out; we trusted her because she knew our name, but you're so loose-lipped about it you'll probably tell it to every blonde we meet from now on, huh? It's just as well Rose was unconscious at the time, but Omega help me, if I hear you say it one more time I'll–"

"Promise me something?" Donna interrupted, gasping painfully.

"Anything," they said simultaneously as both of them laid a hand on one of her shoulders.

"You two shouldn't fight; you're family." At this the Doctors exchanged an incredulous glance, but she raised her voice to get their attention back and insisted, "You really are... So just try to get along, would you? For me?" she whispered.

"Alright," the one in the brown suit nodded.

"Of course," the other agreed at the same time.

"Good," Donna sighed and closed her eyes; she was fading fast. "Thank you..." she breathed as tears welled up in the Doctors' eyes. They watched for the rise and fall of her chest as she inhaled and exhaled, but the seconds passed in silence and it soon became clear that neither of these actions were going to occur. There was no movement at all anywhere in the TARDIS for exactly one minute, then both Doctors wrenched their eyes shut and sobbed in unison, a single tear falling from each of them and splashing down onto her jacket.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, I'm expecting a $hitstorm of flames from people over this chapter, but please let me have a say first! Believe me when I say I'm not bashing Rose; I love Rose, she was one of my favorite companions! ****("Well, then, why are you getting rid of her?" you may cry indignantly.) ****Because Rose staying with the Doctor after _Journey's End_ has been done. What I haven't seen - though admittedly I haven't really looked - is 10.5 staying with the Doctor sans Rose. I don't have anything against 10.5/Rose, but I think the Doctors both have a point in their respective diatribes concerning her here.**

**Now, perhaps that has calmed some of you, but I'm sure there's a larger majority that will be out for my blood because I let Donna die. I have no excuse for that, but think about it; if the Doctor had given Donna a choice, what do you suppose she would have picked? She was begging him not to wipe her mind even though she knew what would happen if he didn't. Is it so far-fetched to think that she would rather die with her memories intact than live without them? ("You could've had the Doctor find another way!" I hear you shout.) Yeah, well, that's been done before, too. Sorry. Besides,**** I'm trying to be original while maintaining canon-compliance as much as possible; therefore, if the Doctor couldn't think of another way, then he couldn't think of another way. The River Song screwdriver was a stroke of (human) genius, though, in my opinion; kudos to you for thinking of it, 10.5! :D**

**Any other questions or comments? If your review was going to be a complaint about what I did with Rose and/or Donna, then by all means say something to the effect of "But... but... I love [insert character name here]... :(" and please keep the insults to a minimum. Who knows? If enough people say that, then maybe she'll show up again later... After all, this is _Doctor Who_! ^.~**


End file.
